Helping Strangers in Need Issue 14 Home Page

In an emergency situation, there is no time to collect your thoughts and decide what is best to do. You just have to act quickly. If the person needing help is a child, there is an added complication. Although the bystander is concerned about the well-being of the child, he or she may worry that other people misperceive his good intentions as threats to the child's safety. When Carmen England and a friend heard a crying child, they had to make a quick decision. They wanted to help the child, but worried that other people might think they were abducting him or wanted to hurt him. Although they were afraid of the consequences of helping the child, they stepped in. Photo: Sandy Peters Suddenly, we heard a boy desperately crying, so we stopped to find out what was happening to the child. Helping a Lost Child Carmen England from Peru There are different circumstances in which people decide to intervene or not in a public aid situation. Many years ago, I had an experience in my country that made me realize how difficult it is to make a decision about helping somebody in possible danger. It was a beautiful, warm evening, and I decided to take a walk with my best girl friend. We were enjoying our conversation and the weather very much. Suddenly, we heard a boy desperately crying, so we stopped to find out what was happening to the child. We wondered perhaps if the child's mother had hit him or if some other bad circumstance was causing him to cry in that way. My friend and I had to quickly make a decision about intervening or not, to help the child or to continue our walk. I confess that it was not really easy to decide what to do at that moment. I had many thoughts all together in just a few seconds. There was not time to think at all. Maybe if I tried to help the child, somebody would think I was abducting him or that I wanted to hurt him. Although we were afraid of the consequences of helping the child, we stepped in. We tried to talk to him, asking about his parents and the reason why he was crying. However, it was impossible to find out because the child was so upset he couldn't speak at all. We decided to take him to the police station. We thought it would be a safe place for him. On our way to the police, I felt empathy for the helpless boy because I remembered a time when I was a child and got lost in the market. I remembered crying because I was afraid. I imagined that he was experiencing the same traumatic situation. When we arrived at the police station, his mother was there crying because her baby was lost or had been abducted by some dangerous people. I could imagine how the child's mother had suffered, thinking that her baby was in danger and not knowing how to help him. Sometimes we have the chance to help others in an emergency situation. I felt very good about helping that boy. More on helping strangers: Helping Can Be Risky My Father's Story | When Do We Step In and Help | Would I Intervene? Return to: Helping Strangers in Need | Issue 14 | Home Page TOPICS Online Magazine - ©1997-2008 - Sandy and Thomas Peters - topics.mag@gmail.com